Biden Optimistic on Economy, Says More to Do

Updated 9:31 PM EDT, Mon, Nov 23, 2009

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Vice President Joe Biden was in Philadelphia Monday morning, speaking to the Committee of Seventy at their annual fundraiser at the Park Hyatt Bellevue.

Biden told the group that the economy is showing signs of improvement as a result of the federal stimulus package and criticized those who refuse to recognize the connection.

“It's disingenuous to fail to acknowledge how much worse things would have been if not for this intervention,” said Biden.

While acknowledging that much more work is needed to restore the country's economic health he also stated that “the toboggan ride has ended.''

“We believe strongly in what we're doing,'' Biden said in his 40-minute address. “We may be wrong. I understand why people are skeptical of our approach. But our country has never been in this position before.”

He said he is not surprised by the levels of “partisan rhetoric” that surround the ongoing battles over health care reform, energy policy, education and the economy but took opponents to task for not bringing their own ideas to the table.

“I understand what they're against. I have not heard yet what they're for.”

Republican lawmakers say the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress in February has failed to stanch the loss of U.S. jobs. At 10.2 percent, October's unemployment rate reached a level unseen in more than a quarter century, though the Obama administration is quick to point out that job loss has slowed.

Congressional Republicans also maintain they have presented alternatives, including reforming health care through individual tax credits.

Biden claimed that reducing dependence on foreign oil, creating a better educated work force and addressing the spiraling costs of healthcare are essential to ensuring the country's future prosperity. According to him, doing nothing will leave the U.S. as a “second-grade economic power'' unable to compete with countries like China and Japan.

“I don't want to be buried by a freight train coming out of the far East because they were willing to change the status quo,” he said.

Biden reiterated recent predictions of some economists that the country should see job growth after the first of the year, probably in the first quarter.

He also said housing markets were stabilizing, banks were back from the brink of collapse, the stock market was improving since hitting a 12-year low in early March, and the nation's gross domestic product last quarter marked its first increase in two years.

“How quickly we forget how bad off we were,” said Biden. “There's plenty more to do, but there's plenty of reason for hope.”

The Committee is a nonpartisan group established in 1904 that works to promote ethical and effective government, fair elections, and an informed citizenry in the Philadelphia region.